Say Your Piece

September 15, 2008

In keeping updated with the web world, I have a handful of credible, wonderful sites/blogs I read on a daily basis. One of which is Best Web Gallery. Maintained by the same guy who writes Web Designer Wall, this is a great way to see the latest and greatest in web design. Today, my attention was brought to this site:
Power to the Poster which, obviously, is a well designed site, BUT it’s the mission of the site that pulled me in. Anyone can download their political posters for FREE, and utilize them to make the members of their communities think about the issues we are facing as a nation. I love it.

THEN I stumbled upon Smashing Magazine’s feature for today, which ties into this whole concept of sharing our thoughts or showcasing ideas in a public space.

Although, sometimes grafitti is not always 100% political, I think that the simple act of reaching outside of social norms and utilizing space that is not meant to be utilized for expression is in and of itself making a bold statement. A very brave one, at that.

This idea of rebellion got me thinking of one of my favorite anarchist collectives, Crimethinc Ex-Workers Collective. Although I cannot forsee ever not having a job and being content with that (unless the U.S. decides to provide Universal Healthcare, which it should), I really respect Crimethinc and admire what they do. They’re such a giving group of people. I’ve probably written about them before. They don’t care about profits, or publicity, all they want to do is spread their message of ultimate autonomy. One of my favorite books Off the Map was purchased from their website (for a measly $2, seriously! seriously awesome), and not only did I get a handful of free posters, stickers and zines, someone from Crimethinc wrote me a handwritten message thanking me for my purchase. I can’t say enough good things about them and the work that they do for no money. Again, love it.

Lastly, going with my theme of bad-ass-ness, I think more people should know about the SPRFKR line of apparel. Why more people aren’t as crazy about them as I am is a mystery to me. I am a plain kind of girl, but the only graphic apparel I seem to like and want to support is SPRFKR.
Their illustrations are amazing, and I love that they don’t put their label name all over their clothing. I don’t know about you, but I don’t enjoy paying money to be a walking billboard for clothing companies. And that is why I like SPRFKR. Good design. Smart design. Great conversation starters.

Hey Tati… so your post about CrimethInc [reading website right now] made me think about the anarchist newspaper Slingshot from up North… which made me think it was almost time to buy my new Slingshot planner for the year [awesome, I keep trying to buy a different one but I always come back] which made me go visit http://www.microcosmpublishing.com/ to see if they had them yet… and uhh… that was a really long comment for “you’d probably like it check it out! ”

traci! this site is great. i’m totally thinking about getting the books “Applicant” and “Anarchism” (about Emma Goldman). too cool. oh and “Beneath the Paving Stones: Situationists and the Beach”… which is funny because they mention Crimethinc in the synopsis. P

hey guess what! on october 1, lang lang (the guy who did the piano on the painted veil soundtrack) is performing at the OC Performing Arts Center! He’s doing Debussy (including what looks like claire de lune), Schubert, Bartok and Chopin. let’s totally go!

I know! I go through stints of visiting Microcosm all the time and then forgetting about it for awhile but they have such a crazy selection of zines! I end up not being to decide between like 20 and leaving with nothing, but when you do order they always send you extra goodies!

Thanks for the great Review TRUE!
SUPER FUCKER is 100% independent LAtino Dirt Nag of Death here to save all those walking billboard from being board with what they wear Get naked then when your nipples get so hard they are borderline bleeding